A warm welcome to all families both returning and new to Princes Hill Secondary College.

It is with pleasure we share some achievements from 2019 and celebrate a smooth start to a year in the midst of challenges presented during the holiday period. In term one, the school has been in regular communication with students, families and staff through the Compass News Feed concerning the rapidly changing situation with the novel coronavirus (CoVid19). I congratulate our students and staff for their resilience in continuing to focus on student learning programs in the midst of the public health uncertainty.

Please enjoy and celebrate our newsletter and photos from the successful Wilderness Week, student graduations and achievements.

Contacting staff

I take this opportunity to remind our parents of the use of the Compass Parent Portal, if you are a new parent and do not have your username and password please contact the relevant Sub-School Office through the General Office on Telephone 9389 0600 . The Compass Parent Portal gives parents up to date information about your child’s timetable, attendance, reports, upcoming events etc. as well as allow you to approve your children’s attendance on excursions and to make payments on line plus a host of other things including access to your children’s teachers via e-mail (a list of Teacher codes is included at the end of this newsletter). If you have accessed the Compass Parent Portal before but have forgotten your password please contact the relevant sub-school office through the number indicated above.

Teacher surname and first name initial followed by @phsc.vic.edu.au

e.g. Contact Business Manager Michelle Westlake at westlakem@phsc.vic.edu.au

We are delighted to welcome the following new staff:

Kim Gray, Acting Assistant Principal (Semester 1, 2020)

Nick Taylor, Head of Music

Ben Gobbo, Sport Coordinator

Elizabeth Howe, Classroom Teacher

Jim Hooper, Classroom Teacher

Jan Baddeley, Executive Assistant

Kieran Dell, Integration Aide

Matt Rogers, Integration Aide

New Student Welfare Team:

Felicity Marlowe (Coordinator)

Jessica Little - Mental Health Practitioner

Kelly Yu - Educational Psychologist

Student attendance:

Our duty of care requires the school to know where students are at all times during a school day.

Parents should use the Compass portal (app or web-based) to approve all student absences of up to one week. Ideally this is done by 8:45am on the first day of absence.

For students leaving during the day notification must be made via Compass or in writing (including email) to the year level coordinator.

Any student under 16 years of age who needs to leave school during the day will need to be collected by a parent/ guardian or person listed as an emergency contact. Please ensure that our records are up to date regarding emergency contacts.

If you are planning on taking a holiday for more than a week during term time then please notify the year level coordinator. In these circumstances students should complete a Leave Form which can be sourced from the sub school offices. This will support and assist students to remain abreast of the curriculum during their absence.

Your support with these matters is greatly appreciated.

Student insurance: PHSC and the Department do not provide student accident or ambulance cover. Parents/carers may wish to obtain student accident insurance cover and/or ambulance cover, depending on their health insurance arrangements and any other personal considerations. Ambulance cover is strongly recommended as subsequent costs can be very high ($1200) whilst an annual family subscription is less than$100 per annum.

2020 Strategic Foci

This year the school has a particular focus on developing curriculum for the weekly SEL Program (Social and Emotional Learning) at years 7-10. Framed by the principles of positive psychology and restorative practice, a carefully sequenced program is being developed, documented and implemented. Whole staff professional learning in restorative practices kicked off the year to help facilitate the program and develop teacher expertise. Further areas of emphasis this year include exploring with staff how students can have greater agency in their learning, and a sharing of pedagogical practice through a program of peer observation.

We have also appointed three new Learning Specialists this year to help lead staff in improving and sharing practice across all learning areas. Our well-being team has also grown through the employment of additional staff with expertise in mental health, effectively increasing the resource by a full time position to help support students across the school with mental health and wellbeing.

School Performance Report 2019

Every school has a report card of sorts from the Department in September.

Schools are rated across a range of key performance domains - Achievement, School Climate, Student Attitudes, Engagement, Participation and Senior Secondary. I am pleased to advise that our school was rated in the highest possible performance group - Influence. This result is the envy of other secondary schools in the North West Victorian Region and is not easy to achieve.

December - January Building Program

The end of 2019 saw the full redevelopment of Science Room 302 funded by our school council. this project ensues that all our science labs are of the highest possible standard to support student learning and teacher practice. Particular thanks to Elle Petricca our Science Leader and AP Anthony Avotins - and all involved - in getting this significant project from an idea to a reality.

Further building works to improve accessibility for students such as new automatic doors have taken place at entry points around the school, and related works will continue into the Easter holiday period.

The VCE study hub on the top floor has also had works to improve conditions for senior students including the construction of new partitions and doors to reduce noise, and the installation of air conditioning.

Who’s who at PHSC: